Portraiture is one of the most popular reasons people first pick up a camera: capturing beautiful images of family and friends that are a step above the can produce images that will be treasured for years, rather than snapshots to be forgotten.
With these simple tips you can take your portraiture to the next level and avoid some common mishaps.
1) Get creative with Depth of Field
We’ve all seen those fantastic images with the background blurred: this is an example of a shallow depth of field (DoF). The easiest way to control this is by using the aperture settings on your camera. Setting the dial to Aperture Priority (Av) will give you full control over this. Your camera will provide you with an F number, which is used to represent aperture.
[framed_box bgColor=”##E6E6E6″ textColor=”#000000″ rounded=”true” align=”center”]• The lower the F Number (e.g F/1.8) the less in focus.
• The higher the F Number (e.g F/32) the more in focus.[/framed_box]
Set your camera to Av and set your aperture to the lowest number. Depending on your lens this could be anywhere from F1.4 to F5.6. Provided your focus is correct you should have a blurred background behind a sharp subject.
2) Focus on the eyes
“The eyes are the windows in to the soul” as the old saying goes, so when it comes to portraiture it’s essential your subject’s eyes are clear. Out of focus eyes can ruin an image, by focussing on the eyes we make sure to avoid this problem every time.
To control your focus set your camera to single point focus and set it for the center point (the method varies on different cameras, see your manual for details). When you half press the shutter the camera auto focuses on this point, then when you fully press the shutter it takes the picture.
Half press the shutter to focus on the eyes, then holding the shutter half down recompose your shot and take the picture.
3) Use the rule of 3rds
Interesting composition can make the difference between a simple snapshot and a beautiful photograph. There are many guidelines when it comes to framing your photograph but the simplest and most effective is the rule of thirds. Almost all cameras have a guide to the rule of thirds built in, whether etched on to the viewfinder or overlaid on the live view screen.
When setting up a portrait photo the temptation is to place your subject in the centre, but this can lead to quite dull photos. The rule of thirds states that placing your subject one third of the way in to the frame (as marked out by the grid lines in the example photo) you will get a more interesting composition.
4) Keep your subject happy
While classic portraiture favoured rigid, formal posing, modern portraiture trends towards more relaxed naturalistic images of people enjoying themselves. This of course poses a problem: your subject has to be happy in order to look happy, just saying “cheese” can produce more forced smiles than happy memories.
Having your photo taken can be quite a daunting experience, so it’s the photographers job to keep everyone happy. Chat away, keep them at ease and do your best to make the shoot as fun as possible. When it comes to children props can be invaluable, many a time the difference between a tantrum and a lovely photo has been having a toy on hand to keep the little one smiling.
5) Think about the background
When setting up your shot it’s good to think not just about your subject but about everything else in the picture. The bizarre hobby of “Photobombing” has proven that even if you take a fantastic portrait having a distraction in the background can ruin your image.
Look around before you start shooting: a simple backdrop like a brick wall or bush adds a little bit of colour to your photo without distracting attention away from your subject.
